Thursday, May 3, 2007

A loyal, and observant, reader informed me that my almost famous buttermilk fried chicken recipe had not made the move over to this new blog. I was shocked and appalled. But, I recovered quickly, and so here you go. As you’ll see, the secret is getting the spice mix into the marinade, and into the chicken, instead of just the flour.

We’ve made this Southern favorite a lot faster and easier by using boneless/skinless thighs instead of the traditional whole cut-up chicken. The thighs cook much faster and more evenly than the usual array of chicken parts. The buttermilk marinade and spice mix is fairly traditional, but hey, why mess with perfection!

I’m assuming you’ve seen the mashed potato recipe video, but just in case, I linked it here. You can't serve these beautiful thighs with some water-logged,lumpy mashers! Also, I've included a very basic chicken gravy recipe video below.

Help us bring down the powdered gravy mix industry! It’s just about as easy as making gravy from a mix anyway. You know that we usually use the de-glazed pan to make most of our sauces, but since we don't have that luxury, this will work for you. So, back away from that powdered gravy mix! This is a VERY basic recipe that you’ll want to jazz up with things like garlic, onions, peppers, etc. Make sure to use a really good chicken stock or broth… any sauce is only as good as the stock used!

I tried this recipe today. Went full out with the mashed potato and gravy and even corn and peas.

The chicken was good but I think it'd be even better if all of the spices used on the chicken were mixed with the flour as well. I put a lot of spices on the chicken but couldn't taste most of it. I sprinkled the last piece already dredged with the spices and it brought out all the flavors.

I wasn't really measuring so I think I put too much flour in the gravy and it came out a little lumpy no matter how much I churned it. Flavor was still good though.

you mentioned the salt and pepper and paprika and cayenne pepper but i couldn't find anywhere on your site where you mentioned what the " 11 herbs and spices " were. What are they, i'd love to make this buttermilk fried chicken but i'm thinking i really need to know what the " 11 herbs and spices " are. Thanks, Dan.

Hello Chef John, I have a question for you. While making your gravy I notice in the picture it shows chicken broth but you talk about pouring in chicken stock, I've seen both in the store, are the two basically the same thing as far as your recipes are concerned?

Chef John my family dislikes chicken thighs, can we use chicken breasts or will they be too dry. I wanted to try your cracker crumb dressing and wanted an easy chicken recipe. Thanks so much. I enjoy watching and listening to your videos.

Tried this once and it's great. Going to prepare it again, but for more people. If you have to cook the chicken in batches, what's the best way to keep the first batches warm without drying them out? Thanks.